Children's Advil

We were able to try a sample of Chilren's Advil sugar-free and dye-free in Berry flavor. My daughter would take the medicine. We were fighting fevers and had a hard time getting the temperature to come down. Once we used Children's Advil, the fever came down and my child was back up to playing within about 20 minutes. She also complained less about her "head hurting" and other aches in her legs after given the Advil. We love the Children's Advil brand products, but are so thrilled there is a product that doesn't have dyes and sugars that are unneccessary in a medicine! I hate giving Children's medicines with dyes and sugars because they are sticky and gross! Now I can feel better about giving a medicine to my child with the Children's advil without dyes and added sugars. My daughter never complained about the taste either like she has with other medicines we offered.

I would definitely recommend this to other parents - go try Children's Advil!

Kettle Brand Chips & Popcorn

Jordan and I have always been Kettle Brand chip fans. The Kettle Brand just added new products (at least new to us) - real sliced potato chips and popcorn. Through BzzAgent I was able to try out their new products for free and for a discount. I love all the flavors offered in their different products and love that they are a local company (just an hour from us are the headquarters). I tried out the popcorn in black pepper & sea salt and it was so good, plus it's a snack you don't have to feel guilty about. Kettle brand chips and popcorn are fresh and have so many flavors. I also loved the real sliced potato chips in sea salt & vinegar-it's a classic flavor. Check these products out at a grocery store near you because they are delicious. Plus you can feel good because these products are non-GMO verified and the company is all about sustainibility.

-Molly

Secret Outlast Deodorant

I got to try out Secret Outlast Deodarant for free as a BzzAgent and I am loving it. I always had a hard time finding a good deodorant that kept me smelling fresh by banishing odor and fought sweat. I found it. I used to use solid deodorants, but the gel is so much better. I know that it goes on well in the morning and then it stays on all day regardless of what activities I do, including walking or jogging in humid Oregon! I am the newest fan of Secret Outlast Deodorant and am glad to try it out. It's amazing and I smell a lot better :-)!



- Molly

Oreo Cheesecakes Minis

My dad wanted me to make some cheesecakes, and sometimes cheesecake homemade (at least at my house) does not turn out so smooth or cook even so I tried making mini cheesecakes and found they were easier and cooked more evenly! Also, it is such an easy recipe just make sure to not leave cream cheese chunks in the mix and to make sure to mix it really smooth, this will help with the final texture of the cheesecake! The recipe was adapted from one I found online for cheesecake, and after finding delicious Oreo Cheesecake with my dad in New York!

Mini Cheesecakes

2 lbs (32 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs (I used whole eggs vs. egg whites)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt

Using an electric mixer (you will need the power to make a smooth mixture), begin by beating the cream cheese until slightly beaten, then slowly add in the sugar, mixing in between. Add the vanilla and eggs, and then finally the sour cream and salt. Mix as you add, making sure that any chunks of cream cheese are gone and the mixture is VERY smooth.

For Oreo Cheesecakes:

Place an Oreo cookie in the bottom of a cupcake liner in a cupcake pan. Then add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of Oreo cookie crumbles to the cheesecake mixture and pour over the Oreo cookie until the cheesecake mixture is about to the top of the cupcake liner.

For Plain Mini Cheesecakes:

I also made some plain cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. I used chocolate graham crackers to make a variation on a plain cheesecake crust, but you can choose original, cinnamon, chocolate, or whatever you might want. To make the crust break 1 package out of a box of graham crackers (about 8 to 10 graham crackers) and then using a fork mix in 6 tbsp of softened butter and 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (I add less than more). I usually don't follow an exact recipe, but just make sure the graham crackers are "wet" with the butter and can be formed into a crust without being drenched in butter :-). I then place the crust in the bottom of a cupcake liner, pushing the crust with a spoon so that it is compact and not crumbly. Then place the cheesecake mixture on top until it is about to the top of the cupcake liner.

For either option, cook for about 24 to 28 minutes at 275 degrees, rotating them half way. You will know they are cooked when the cheesecake is set, but don't wait for them to brown. Let cool and place into container and chill in fridge until ready to serve. You can then top with fruit for the plain cheesecake and the Oreo cheesecakes are perfect just the way they are. The recipe makes about 24 to 30 cheesecakes. ENJOY!

Morningstar Veggie Burgers...YUM!

Having used to be vegetarian I always have loved veggie burgers. The morningstar veggie burgers are great, and are very healthy for you! I was able to get coupons to try the product out! Check them out if you want to try a healthy alternative to regular burgers (and sneak some vegetables in)! Even Miley likes them, so they are great for kids and husbands to get them some good and health food.

Pork Roast

We have made a few different pork roasts in the crockpot this week after I got coupons and ideas from Bzzagent for making pork! Try it yourself. Here are some ideas for the crockpot:

Pork Roast with Honey Mustard Chipotle Sauce
We used a 1 to 2 lb. pork roast and then added 1 to 2 cups of Kraft Honey Mustard Chipotle everything dressing. We also added some salt/pepper, 1 to 2 tablespoons of  soy sauce, and a red pepper. Just throw it all in the crockpot and cook away.

Pork Roast with Kick n' Rub
1 to 2 lb. pork roast along with 1 onion and 1 red and 1 green pepper. Add crushed red pepper or red pepper to taste, salt/pepper, cumin, soy sauce, oil, lime juice, dry onion, garlic, and other spices to taste!

Halloween Printable

I made some chevron print in Photoshop and then decided to use a Chevron print for my Halloween printable. You can download the printable by saving it.

Glade Expressions

We got the chance to try out the new Glade Expressions Collection! It's a great product and I love the new diffusers glade has come out with. They blend in with home decor and work really well. Try out the new Glad Expressions Collection. I got the chance to try it out from Bzz Reprt. Check out my facebook page for a $4 off coupon! Yay for coupons and for a great new product!

SUMMER PRINTABLE

SUMMER PRINTABLE

I just finished my summer printable I created for our 11x14 frame we put a printable for holidays/seasons! I am in love with this one and the bright colors!!

Feel free to download it for your own use (11x14)!

Easter printable

I'm probably not decorating for St. Patrick's Day so I'm getting ahead on Easter. I just made my Easter printable for our "printable frame." If you like it, you can download it here (11x14 size).

Nacho Cheese Sticks

Jordan and I love a new restaurant we found on the Oregon Coast called Roadhouse 101. It is a fun atmosphere with real good food in Lincoln City, OR! Jordan and I love the Oregon Coast and wish we lived closer to make some more frequent trips! The place has money on the ceiling, which totally bugged Jordan that people just put hundreds of dollars on the ceiling rather than doing something else with it! Here it is:

We tried an appetizer at the Roadhouse 101 we have never heard of called Nacho Cheese Sticks. We usually never get appertizers when we eat out because #1 we are cheap, and #2 we get too full and don't want our dinner. Basically, this appetizers was mozzarella sticks, but nacho style. It is cheddar cheese in the middle with a tortilla chip breading. Then you dipped them in salsa. They were good! A few weeks ago we tried to create our own version of the nacho sticks and based them off a basic Mozzarella stick recipe.

Here is our version:

Cheddar Cheese Sticks (instead of mozzarella) cut in half

Wet Mixture: 1 egg and a little bit of milk

Dry Mixture: 1/4 cup saltines and 1/2 cup tortilla chips crumbs (make the crumbs in food processor or blender) and add taco seasoning into the mixture

Note: The dry mixture is an estimate so use about half of the tortilla chips or a little more to the saltines ratio, the tortilla chips make it crispy and add to the "nachoness"

Oil for frying or baking

Dip the sticks of cheese in the wet mixture and then into the dry mixture. Repeat again, dipping again into the wet mixture and then in the dry mixture, for an extra crispy breading. Freeze for about an hour and then fry or bake. Use salsa for dipping! Good luck trying it out on your own!

fridge frames / i love you because - pinterest

FRIDGE FRAMES...my new favorite idea!

This is the original idea from pinterest (below left)....The frames are fancier than the ones I found and used. Also, I used an idea I saw all over pinterest for an "I love you because" framed print to gift Jordan for Valentine's day (below right).
    

I found frames at the dollar store near my house, Honk's in Provo UT. They have an 88 cent Tuesday so I picked up 3 frames for less than 3 dollars! I have made two so far...one 5x7 and one 8x10. Use a really light frame. Mine were foam covered with a light metal so they were not heavy. Also, find magnets that are pretty strong to help hold them to the fridge. I spray painted the frames, super glued magnets to the back (all over!), and then added scrapbook paper to the 5x7 and an 8x10 print I created in Photoshop ("I love you because:"). I combined the idea of the fridge frame and "I love you because" to create a Valentine's gift for Jordan, my husband. It is great on the fridge where we can conveniently leave little notes for each other.

This is the photoshop jpeg I created (and am generously letting you steal.

If you want to create your own use picnik.com or use photoshop. I chose two different fonts, added the font, then added a line. Pretty simple! Even for a beginner in photoshop!

The other frame with the chevron scrapbook paper I made is still a work in progress. Again, I spray painted the frame and added  scrapbook paper for the background. I am going to create vinyl "What's for dinner?" and then use dry erase marker to write what is on the menu for dinner that night. My husband always asks and likes to know so the idea came from him asking each day, "What is for dinner? It better be something good!" I guess now he will know ahead of time if it will be good or not, right!? Note: You could just use dry erase marker to make notes/messages or do something different on your fridge like write something to use up or a grocery list, or so forth. Let me know what ideas you have for your fridge....

Please excuse the horrible pictures, the lighting in our kitchen is bad.

Paper Organization

If you are anything like Jordan and I, you have lots of loose papers that pile up on the counters, floors, or other places. I usually like to hide them places and then Jordan can't find what he needs. So this was an idea I came up with to create a better system for "hiding" or organizing our papers. We picked up a set of 5 magazine holders from IKEA in plain white for about 3 dollars (maybe even less than that). They are just white cardboard and pretty lame so I added some color and interest by cutting scrapbook paper to fit the spine. Use modge podge to apply the paper to the cardboard and then apply a coat on the top to protect the scrapook paper. We used five different colors/styles of paper so that we could identify what papers belong in which holder. We then placed them on a bookcase facing in so that the spine with the different scrapbook paper shows. You could cover the two sides as well, but we decided we just wanted the spines covered.

organizing thanks to pinterest

Here is another idea taken from Pinterest. I saw a pin where shower curtain rings were used to organize women scarves. Well, I took the idea to help my husband organize his ties. I took a heavy duty hanger and used plastic shower rings to organize his ties. It is so much better than the organizer we were using before. It is easier to get them on and off and put them together with colors! Such a great organization idea! Try it out for those guys in your life.

cheap wall art

This is some wall art for Miley's room I made for cheap. The vinyl was from a vinyl boutique I love to stop by, but you could cut it our yourself or get it custom made. I just put the vinyl right on the glass on the frame. The frame is just a dollar wooden frame from the dollar store that I used glossy black spray paint on. Scrapbook paper was cut to the frame size and added to add some color and design. Cheap and easy to make!

6 MONTHS

Miley is 6 months officially on January 17, 2011. She weighed in at 14 pounds 3 ounces and is 25 inches long! She is a small little baby girl, but so cute! She is sitting up so well and is so strong for her age! Miley is babbling and talking all the time. She can get so loud and shrills and screams a girly scream quite often. Her personality is really starting to show more and more each day. It is so much fun! Now we are just waiting and getting ready for her to start crawling any day. She will go from sitting up to getting onto all fours and wants to start crawling so bad.

Miley Marie

Lamp redo

Here are the ideas from pinterest where my idea originated:

   

http://pinterest.com/pin/61924563595936282/

http://pinterest.com/pin/61924563595873211/

Our lamp was just clear glass and I spray painted it with Valspar spray paint from Lowes. The Valspar spray paint is awesome and coats really well. I've used it for a few projects on various surfaces and it works really well. It looks a little more blue in the picture, but it is more of a teal or turquoise color. I've now added a black empire lampshade with it, as well.

another printable

I saw another printable on Pinterest that I only kind of liked, so I decided to take the idea I saw and edit for my own colors and taste for my kitchen. It is now a 12x12 size for a frame I already had in my kitchen.

Here is the original pin from pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/61924563596075788/



Here is my own printable I created using photoshop:

Under Construction

I am currently trying to get our blog updated so excuse the mess!